Fans upset about loss of Pence and Bourn, but they remain dedicated to Astros

First the Astros traded Jenna Stallings’ favorite players, Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn. But still Stallings came Monday night to Minute Maid Park, wearing her Pence jersey, to watch her favorite team play the Cincinnati Reds.

And then, danged if they didn’t take her sign, too.

Judged by the standards of Internet and social media chatter since the Astros unloaded their best players for a mess of minor leaguers over the weekend, Stallings’ sign was relatively benign.

Directed to the Astros’ general manager, it read, “How many prospects is Ed Wade worth?”

Both were too much for the Astros’ Thought Police, who confiscated the signs as the group hiked its way up to Section 408, where the temperature hovered uncomfortably close to the 90s as the team on the field hovers uncomfortably close to 80 losses.

“I’m really upset about it,” Stallings said. “I’ve been a huge Pence fan since he got here. I thought he and Bourn were going to become the new Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.”

As for the signs, she said, “I wasn’t coming out here to hurt anyone’s feelings. I was trying to show my support for Pence and Bourn. I’m still going to root for the Astros. I’ve grown up loving the Astros. But I’m upset.”

Quiet, loyal and upset were common threads among many of the announced crowd of 21,502.

That group included Jacob Miller of Houston and his 3-year-old son Benjamin, who were in Section 254, Row 9 — actually, the only fans in Row 9 and among 13 fans in all of Section 254.

“I grew up as a Saints fan in south Louisiana, so I know this is part of the life cycle of any sports franchise,” Miller said. “But it is stunning to look around and see how few people are here.

“At least none of them are wearing bags over their heads.”

Cousins Ryan Ignasiak and Brandon Howard expressed their displeasure with shirts, not sacks. Ignasiak wore a red Phillies T-shirt with Pence’s name and Howard a Braves shirt with Bourn’s name.

“(Pence) was the face of the franchise,” Ignasiak said. “Any trade would be unfortunate with him leaving. But I don’t know. I don’t like it. But you can’t dislike it, either. It’s just a bad situation.”

Most traces of Bourn and Pence, including the 52-foot-by-34-foot nylon mesh sign of Pence that adorned Minute Maid’s façade, had been removed before fans arrived. But traces remained, including a rack of Pence T-shirts, at $35 per pop, in the Astros’ gift shop and the green T-shirt with Pence’s number 9 worn by 11-year-old Davis Ballard of Pearland.

“I would have kept him,” Davis said. “He was the best player they had, next to Bourn.”

Kyle Cooper was another young, disappointed fan. He and his father, Doyle, planned their annual trip from Wylie, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, in hopes of seeing Pence, who was Kyle’s favorite player.

“He’s a little disappointed,” Doyle Cooper said. “He’s in the ballpark now with a ball and a pen, trying to get autographs, but I’m not sure there’s anybody left to get an autograph from.”

Hard habit to break

The Coopers, however, say they’ll come back next year, and cousins Ignasiak and Howard are keeping their season tickets.

Mike Schlouch of Houston, playing pool in a Texas Avenue bar before the game, also counsels patience: “I’m in it for the long haul,” he said. “Let’s give the new owner a chance.”

Or as Bourn fan Brandon Howard said, “In the end, you can’t go wrong going to a baseball game.”